Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below.

Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below.

A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress.

Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research. That represents an increase from 81.1 quadrillion British thermal units (BTU) in 2014 to 101.7 quadrillion BTU in 2035, with 85 percent of that coming from conventional fuels. Alternative fuels are expected to make up 16.4 percent of global consumption in 2035, up from the current 7.4 percent. And while the global 0.5-percent figure for the electric and hydrogen sounds (and is, frankly) dismal, that number also represents the efficiency of those types of fuel. According to the report, though, "The most impactful fuel savings strategy is likely to come from fuel efficiency improvements in the conventional vehicle platform and the internal combustion engine." Read more at Green Car Congress.

Panasonic has reached an agreement with Tesla to supply manufacturing equipment for Tesla's battery production plant, according to the Nikkei. Panasonic will invest around $1 billion of the total expected $5 billion for the plant. Does this mean we'll soon know where the proposed Gigafactory will be? Read more at Reuters.

(Crewe, 28 July 2014) Bentley Motors has become the first automotive manufacturer to be awarded the triple Carbon Trust Standard for carbon, water and waste reduction. The certification was completed by the Carbon Trust, one of the world's leading independent authorities on delivering carbon reduction and achieving greater resource efficiency. Bentley has now separately secured the Carbon Trust Standards for Carbon, Water and Waste having made significant reductions in these three key environmental areas at its Crewe, Cheshire headquarters.

The certification has independently verified Bentley's environmental achievements between 2011-2013, which saw the company achieve a 16 per cent reduction in CO2 relative to the number of cars manufactured, a 35.7 per cent reduction in water use and an absolute reduction in the amount of waste being produced.

Major projects have included the installation of over 20,000 solar panels, mounted on roofs across the factory, which have reduced CO2 generation by over 2,500 tonnes per year and contributed 286,200 kWh back to the national grid. Last month 20 per cent of the company's electrical requirements were generated by solar energy.

Michael Straughan, Bentley's member of the board for manufacturing, commented:

"There has been manufacturing here for nearly 80 years and customers admire the character and unique history of the site which we continue to respect. However, we have managed to also create an increasingly environmentally-friendly, modern manufacturing environment and will continue to target future reductions."

The 339,000m³ factory is home to Bentley's engineering and manufacturing functions with 3,700 colleagues working on site and producing a record 10,120 cars in 2013. Darran Messem, managing director of certification at the Carbon Trust said:

"We would like to congratulate everyone at Bentley for achieving the Carbon Trust Standard and contributing to clear year-on-year reductions of carbon emissions, water use and waste outputs. Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology.

"We've also been impressed with the excellent levels of employee engagement with Bentley employing a dedicated Environment team and colleagues across the factory acting as Environmental Champions and pro-actively identifying new ways to save valuable resources."

Chevrolet Volt Teams with MBAs Across America

32 MBA students trek across country to help 50 businesses in 25 cities

DETROIT – Chevrolet is providing 12 extended-range electric Volts to help expand a unique program that matches local entrepreneurs and MBA students committed to revitalizing small businesses across America.

MBAs Across America launched last year when four first-year Harvard MBA students drove 8,000 miles across the country, offering free business counseling to local entrepreneurs. With the success of their journey, two of the original team members expanded the program into a nonprofit organization.

Eight MBA teams from Babson, Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, University of California Berkeley, and University of Michigan will visit 25 cities this summer, including Detroit, helping nearly 50 small businesses.

"Detroit is the spiritual birthplace of MBAs Across America, so it is fitting that our movement enters its second year thanks to the visionary support of GM - an iconic American institution that we fundamentally believe will help lead the resurgence of Detroit in the years to come," said Casey Gerald, founder and chief executive of MBAs Across America. "We are inspired by GM's work in the Motor City, and thank them for their support in powering our teams' journeys in Chevy Volts."

The MBA students will help seven Detroit metro area businesses: Detroit Empowerment Plan, Ellis Island Tea, EliTea, Oakland Living, the Social Club Grooming Company, Social Sushi, and Sweet Potato Sensations.

Sebastian Jackson, founder of the Social Club Grooming Company in Detroit, was among the first entrepreneurs the MBA students worked with in 2013. Since working with MBAs Across America, Jackson has tripled the revenue of his hair salon and recently received a $100,000 no-equity investment from a local investor.

"We wanted to help enable the vision of MBA students, entrepreneurs, and catalysts coming together to make America stronger, one community at a time," said GM CEO Mary Barra. "We're delighted to be a partner in this extraordinary program and we could not be more proud that Detroit is at the heart of it."

The Volt, which can travel approximately 38 all-electric miles on a single charge, will expose the MBAs to the quiet and efficient EV driving experience and can go more than 300 additional miles between charges by seamlessly switching to a gasoline-powered generator that provides electricity to turn the wheels. With OnStar 4G LTE, owners can explore new features like a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot capable of connecting up to seven devices, as well as improved access to existing OnStar safety and security services.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

About General Motors

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

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You could advertise it that way. However, if your corporation has largely depended on the manipulation of ignorant people who are susceptible to simplistic nationalistic messages that lack a basis in reality it would seem to run counter to that. I think those same ignorant people would not see the apparent lack of a consistent message though. However, I think we would prefer to not make public the fact that some people are smart and others not, since an important part of the typical media manipulations is that everyone who agrees with the message is smart. That is after all what our schools and media are about. They insinuate that if you agree with this message then you are obviously intelligent. On the other hand, the Volt is not a smart choice for everyone at this point. You need to use it to a high enough level (put on enough miles) to get the economic benefit. Of course, I make conparison to a $15K four banger with a five speed that gets 35 MPG which would be my typical choice. However, if your trading out something that gets 25 MPG then you may justify economically the added cost. For myself, I think the Volt is still about $2,500 overpriced. That obviously changes with gasoline prices, but they have been pretty stable of late. If gas goes to $4 a gallon and stays there, then it would be a different story.